I believe that Steampunk is more than just brass and watchparts. It's finding a way to combine the past and the future in an aesthetic pleasing yet still punkish way. It's living a life that looks old-fashioned, yet speaks to the future. It's taking the detritus of our modern technological society and remaking it into useful things. Join me as I search for items for my house that combine the scientific romanticism of the Victorians with our real present and imagined future.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Kevin Derrick, the Project Coordinator for M.O.N.A.'s drawing room in the previous post, was so kind as to answer a couple of my questions about the room, it's contents, and the design.

What is the mirror frame made of?The mirror is oxidized copper tentacles, made by processing wax forms via an electroform tank. The copper solution "sticks" to the specially-coated wax and when complete, all you need do is torch the wax away. Pretty cool, huh?

How did you make the chandelier?

The chandelier was made by Rebecca Pulver, who brings a wealth oftalent to our group. She's the protege of Warren Muller (frombahdeebahdu) and also created the fire screen and electric platecovers too. The chandeliers contain the cast-off parts of other lightfixtures wrapped around a wire mesh frame. The real difficultchallenge was hanging the 150 pound structure from the vaulted slatceiling. The genius of using steel chains at the top made it appearto be restrained rather than suspended.

Why all the stuff on skinny sticks? :)

Mass-produced porcelain came into the hands of the middle-class forthe first time during the Victorian era and so I thought should beincluded in the room. We used vintage/antique porcelain and silvertableware on thin steel rods which references (maybe a bit too heavilyas I'm writing it) plate spinning as a circus act, a huge pastime forfamilies in that era. Too much?

The letters on the walls -- do they say or mean anything?

The letters are random except for spelling out the names of teammembers in key points throughout the room (Geoff, Emily, Robert,Schuyler, Kevin, Michael, Rebecca and Linda.)

How did you light the glassware on the corner table? (Showing offclear glassware is a challenge...)

How did you pull this off? It's a bit eccentric for the more"mainline" style of the house (although props to the dining room...)

Props to the dining room indeed! That was created by my mentor, RJThornburg of bahdeebahdu. He coined the name "Made On North American"and is responsible for our existence in too many ways to name.... Butback to your question- The PSPCA organizers of the Dog Haus wereexceedingly gracious in allowing us carte blanche to create amemorable space in the home. While the owner was unsure of ourdirection and ability to pull it off (though we never had a doubt,haha), ultimately she was happy with the result as well. The otherdesigners in the showhouse had some provocative elements too, thoughthey were invariably more subtle than ours. Ultimately, our strategywas for people to talk about us first and then sort out if they agreedwith our ideas or not... The best part is that the more attention thehouse receives, the better it is for the mission (and coffers) of the*extremely important* SPCA charity organization.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Usually designer show houses feature rooms designed in the most traditional and unrealistic possible sense (i.e. "The Girl's Room" is always pink with ballerinas, 4 books, and 3 sets of clothes.) Not so the Philadelphia SPCA's designer show house. Atop a set of stairs in an old Victorian Mansion lies the twisted traditional (if still unrealistic) drawing room designed by the collaborative innovators of MONA.

(Play the slideshow for lots of pictures and close ups.)

M.O.N.A.'s space, The Drawing Room, re-interprets the home's lineageinto a surreal, neo-Romantic boudoir with references to 19th-centurythemes that include decorative lacemaking, silver gelatin printphotography, the industrial revolution and classic horror novels,amongst others. In order to highlight the broad capabilities of ourprofessional network, M.O.N.A. produced every single piece offurniture and the larger potion of decorative accessory for this room. Signature items include a white oak tete-at-tete, silver-leafedrocking horse/buggy, electroformed copper fireplace screen and antiquesettee with handcarved, painted wood and patent vinyl upholstery. Astrong axis of half black/half white invites further drama into thespace while likewise creating an innovative play of texture andpattern. [It's] intentionally-seasonal with its inspired lighting,achromatic scheme and Gothic influences.

The historic mansion is open for viewing seven days a week through November 9th and benefits the Philadelphia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Holly Black, half of the duo behind the enchanting Spiderwick Chronicles (the New York Post calls it "vintage Victorian fantasy," so you should seek out a copy for yourself or your steampunklets) mentioned her "hidden" library a couple months back, and I sought her out and cajoled some pictures (although truth be told it wasn't that hard...).

Our tour, guided by Ms. Black...

The bookshelf, closed

And now, slightly ajar

And now, open into the sorta secret library.

The secret door from the other side.

The hidden door is from hiddendoors.com and installed by ourcontractor during the renovation. There are a few other small hidden things in our house, but this is really the most fun.

Looking into the library. There is a speakeasy door (ed. note: a door with a small window hole in it that can be opened to see who is on the other side.) on the other side, that leads outside -- the library is in the basement, but it's a walk-out basement -- which is why the library can only be sort of secret.

The fireplace surround is actually pressed stone. It's from www.mantelsdirect.com. They don't have the specific mantel I got any more, but it's a great place to acquire relatively affordable mantles that look like stone.

My husband wanted to be sure to include his WETA ray gun.

I can tell that a lot of love and passion went into this library -- can't you just see a hearty winter meal on that marble table, with a fire roaring and plenty of red wine?

I also wanted to draw your attention to the lighting design -- there's the great chandelier with the mica shade for style, but the library gets most of it's drama from the track lights that highlight the books, panelling, and objects.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Yesterday's library had a floor inspired by M.C. Escher, which made me wonder what else was out there modeled on Escher's work (even if he was too late to be steampunk).

The fundamental mathematics that make Escher's work suitable for floors (or walls) is that they are tessellations -- interlocking shapes that fill a plane. The easiest, and most popular, seems to be the cube tessellation that we saw yesterday. I found it done in concrete, in carpet, in parquet, and in stone tile.

A quick review of the Sunshine City floor in Tokyo, above, makes it easy to see how to constuct this tessellation from simple squares. You need three colors. Four squares of the lightest makes up the top of the cube, and then each side is made up of one whole square with two half squares finishing it up. It's all done on a grid, so while you might get dizzy installing it, it wouldn't be too hard.

The etched glass balustrades with all sorts of scientific references are wonderful, as is the Escher like tile floor (about the only thing here that is recreatable on a professionals budget, instead of a Priceline founder's budget...)

Any area of scientific inquiry can be found here, collected in a beautiful setting that shows just what treasures they are.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

It’s not just cool because it’s trendy — it’s cool because it’s inspirational.

Like being Goth without scaring your parents.... Whereas steampunks are — what? Weirdoes who take pocket-watches too seriously? What are they gonna do, vehemently tell you what time it is?

And the whole reason I'm quoting this:[I]n practice, writers and artists and filmmakers and musicians are all starting with this basic aesthetic and then mixing in some fantasy, some horror, some superheroics. We’re seeing steampunk pirates, steampunk faeries, steampunk Wonder Woman, steampunk Cthulhu cultists.

Steampunk Pirates? Really? (cackle) Just the excuse I needed to get these ideas on pirate decor posted.... I don't really think they are steampunk, but I enjoy them and hope you do as well.

Let's start with options for a kid's room.

Beds! I was astounded at how many different types of children's pirate beds were available!

There's even a Cavalier door available -- a house in my neighborhood has this one, and it works surprisingly well on a apanish style ranch house.

The key thing to remember here is to "avoid kitsch" -- your goal is not to fill your home with pictures of pirates, but to project what a pirate of taste would surround him or herself with to remind them of their adventures...

Monday, October 20, 2008

Yikes -- sorry for the two week hiatus, but when life and work get busy, my blogging suffers.

Julie Shiel takes photographs of the abandoned and decrepit, and in the process makes art that reminds us that no matter how well built or beautiful, without care and attention things disintegrate into nothingness. To me, they seem to be the real life counterpart to Tuomas Korpi's fantasy interiors.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Here's a kitchen/dining room from Metropolitan Home, July/August 2007. The fixture reminds me of the Edison Chandelier by Pottery Barn (although surely that is a knock off of this?). I love how it feels like a spider web. This doesn't seem that hard to build yourself -- I'm wondering if I have a room it would suit.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

I stumbled across Penny Dreadful's Dark Style blog last week when she had a post featuring The Steampunk Home, and I've spent a delightful hour browsing her archives. I think if you like SPH, you may like Dark Style as well.

Friday, October 3, 2008

If you plan to be in the Chicago area anytime from now to next March, check out the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre at the Museum of Science and Industry.

This temporary exhibit features a collection of 20 mechanical sculptures, called automata, which are intricately designed and full of humor. Their humor is brought to life by tiny cranks, pulleys and gears that allow the sculptures to move and take action.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Brass Goggles has a post today on the art of Steve Thomas, featuring his retro-futuristic travel art. What they failed to mention, however, was that you can buy this art for a quite reasonable price on Zazzle.

My favorite is Sail Neptune.

Prices start at $11.95 for a small portfolio print on poster paper, and goes up from there for various other options. Probably the best deal is the calendar with 12 of these prints for around $30.